In an interview, Marni Washington said she followed standard protocol for FEMA workers to avoid hostility in the field. She said agency guidelines clearly state they should disengage from politically hostile communities regardless of political affiliation.

On Nov. 8, 2024, an investigation from conservative news outlet The Daily Wire claimed that an official of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had instructed hurricane-response workers to avoid homes with signs supporting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in their front yards.